Fighting the opioid crisis and how people can help

Missouri stands at a crossroads, caught in the middle of one of the worst public health crises this nation has ever faced: opioid addiction, abuse and overdoses.

Oftentimes in crises, it's natural to wonder what your representatives in government are doing to help and what you can do to help. I'm here today to tell you that I'm committed to fighting the opioid crisis, and I want your help.

Tragically, it is highly likely that each one of us knows someone who has been impacted by opioids. After all, the opioid epidemic knows no boundaries of geography, economics, race or creed.

The numbers are certainly staggering. In 2017, one out of every 65 deaths in our state resulted from opioid overdoses. In total, 952 Missourians died from overdoses.

Nationally, more than 130 people die from opioid overdoses every single day. To put that into context, that is the same number of people who would die if we had a fatal airline crash every day.

More important than the statistics though are the families, neighborhoods and communities who struggle with unimaginable loss and strife every day due to opioid addiction and overdoses. When I was sworn in, I knew that combating the opioid crisis in Missouri would be one of my top priorities.

Under the leadership of my predecessor, the state of Missouri field suit against three pharmaceutical companies: Purdue Pharma, Janssen Pharmaceuticals and its parent company Johnson & Johnson, and Endo Pharmaceuticals, seeking justice for the harm caused to Missourians.

I want every single Missourian to know that I will not back down from this fight. We allege that these drug companies knowingly misrepresented the addictive nature of their drugs to patients and doctors alike.

Two weeks ago, my office launched Real Opioid Pain, an initiative that asks Missourians to share their story about how opioids have affected them, their families, their neighborhoods and their communities. RealOpioidPain.com has a space for you to share your story, as well as helpful resources, up-to-date news and information on Drug Take Back Day.

Certain stories may then be used in our lawsuit against these pharmaceutical companies. We need your help to hold those responsible for this opioid crisis accountable.

I believe that the strength of our case rests not in the number of outside lawyers we can hire, but in the stories that you provide. Nobody knows the pain and loss caused by the opioid crisis better than the people who have lived through it.

We have already seen a great response from victims, family members and community leaders from all corners of Missouri, but we want to hear from as many people as possible.

Now, this is not to say that the thousands of Missourians that rely on prescription pills for pain management should be deprived of their treatment; it simply means that we are working to hold the pharmaceutical companies accountable for their role in misleading patients and health care providers about the highly addictive nature of the drugs and how this has contributed to the opioid crisis.

In addition to launching this initiative and continuing to fight the pharmaceutical companies, I'm continuously working to raise awareness about the opioid crisis — that includes working with agencies across the state to prevent Missourians from falling into addiction in the first place.

Just this past weekend, my office partnered up with the Drug Enforcement Administration and law enforcement agencies to aid Drug Take Back Day efforts in the Kansas City and St. Louis areas.

Since Drug Take Back Day started, nearly 450,000 pounds of prescription pills have been safely taken from Missouri residents. Nationwide, nearly 10,878,950 pounds — that's over 5,000 tons — of pills were taken during Drug Take Back Days.

According to the 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, for persons aged 12 or older who misused a prescription pain reliever in the past year, nearly 41% got the pain reliever they used from a friend or relative for free.

Unfortunately, I've heard too many stories about how teens find prescription painkillers in the family medicine cabinet, only to quickly fall into a cycle of addiction. That's why participating in Drug Take Back Day is crucial for the state of Missouri and the country as a whole.

All of us should take great pains to ensure our unwanted or unused prescription pills are safely disposed of. We need to be aware of the warning signs of drug abuse. And I would encourage all Missourians to visit realopioid pain.com for resources and helpful links. We can work together to help ensure that our sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, uncles, cousins or friends and others don't become the statistics.

For a crisis as pervasive as opioid abuse and addiction, constant action is needed.

The Launch of Real Opioid Pain and Drug Take Back Day are important steps, but they represent just the beginning of our efforts to effectively combat this crisis, hold pharmaceutical companies accountable, and hopefully save Missouri lives.